Comments on: Why Desire2Learn CEO John Baker is Our Hero http://mfeldstein.com/why_desire2learn_ceo_john_baker_is_our_hero/ What We Are Learning About Online Learning...Online Fri, 18 May 2012 06:39:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Nicolas Martignoni http://mfeldstein.com/why_desire2learn_ceo_john_baker_is_our_hero/#comment-545 Nicolas Martignoni Fri, 18 Aug 2006 11:54:35 +0000 http://628057720#comment-545 En r蠣tion au brevet sur le e-Learning accord硠 Blackboard et au proc籠que cette soci赩 a intent硠 l'entreprise Desire2Learn, on observe une 賯nnante mobilisation de la communaut笊 http://www.martignoni.net/blog/2006/08/brevet-sur-le-e-learning-la-communaute-se-mobilise/ En r蠣tion au brevet sur le e-Learning accord硠 Blackboard et au proc籠que cette soci赩 a intent硠 l’entreprise Desire2Learn, on observe une 賯nnante mobilisation de la communaut笊
http://www.martignoni.net/blog/2006/08/brevet-sur-le-e-learning-la-communaute-se-mobilise/

]]> By: Why Desire2Learn CEO John Baker is Our Hero http://mfeldstein.com/why_desire2learn_ceo_john_baker_is_our_hero/#comment-539 Why Desire2Learn CEO John Baker is Our Hero Fri, 18 Aug 2006 01:30:36 +0000 http://628057720#comment-539 While most folks paying attention to the Blackboard patent scandal have sympathy for Desire2Learn, I'm not sure how many people realize just how altruistic the company is being by fighting the patent. From a purely financial perspective, it is clearly... While most folks paying attention to the Blackboard patent scandal have sympathy for Desire2Learn, I’m not sure how many people realize just how altruistic the company is being by fighting the patent. From a purely financial perspective, it is clearly…

]]> By: Michael Feldstein and Blackboard http://mfeldstein.com/why_desire2learn_ceo_john_baker_is_our_hero/#comment-538 Michael Feldstein and Blackboard Tue, 15 Aug 2006 21:40:01 +0000 http://628057720#comment-538 Michael Feldstein will not be winning and "educator of the year" award from Blackboard. He has been one of the most constant sources of information in Blackboard's patent for all-things-LMS. He recently posts on Desire2Learn's altruistic behaviour in fighting the... Michael Feldstein will not be winning and "educator of the year" award from Blackboard. He has been one of the most constant sources of information in Blackboard's patent for all-things-LMS. He recently posts on Desire2Learn's altruistic behaviour in fighting the…

]]> By: Michael Feldstein http://mfeldstein.com/why_desire2learn_ceo_john_baker_is_our_hero/#comment-544 Michael Feldstein Tue, 15 Aug 2006 21:34:10 +0000 http://628057720#comment-544 I'm afraid that doesn't make me feel any better, Joel. First of all, every course management system I can think of uses multiple roles to control release of content. So Small's clarification doesn't in any way narrow the practical scope of the patent vis-a-vis Blackboard's current competitors. Furthermore, roles and permissions for education systems were hardly novel in 1999. For example, my own institution was using Lotus Notes (and later Lotus Domino) to do the same thing way back into the mid-'90s. Matt Small can repeat his assertion that the patent is narrow and justified as many times as he wants. That doesn't make it so. I’m afraid that doesn’t make me feel any better, Joel. First of all, every course management system I can think of uses multiple roles to control release of content. So Small’s clarification doesn’t in any way narrow the practical scope of the patent vis-a-vis Blackboard’s current competitors. Furthermore, roles and permissions for education systems were hardly novel in 1999. For example, my own institution was using Lotus Notes (and later Lotus Domino) to do the same thing way back into the mid-’90s. Matt Small can repeat his assertion that the patent is narrow and justified as many times as he wants. That doesn’t make it so.

]]> By: Joel Backon http://mfeldstein.com/why_desire2learn_ceo_john_baker_is_our_hero/#comment-543 Joel Backon Tue, 15 Aug 2006 21:12:17 +0000 http://628057720#comment-543 I am a Blackboard customer and certainly won't defend the lawsuit against Desire2Learn (don't know enough about it and am not a patent attorney). However, I did spend some time speaking with Bb's corporate counsel, Matt Small, yesterday and learned a bit more about the patent. The only claims in the patent that really matter are #1 & #36. The other 42 claims are dependent on those two. In other words, the Bb patent is really for course management systems that utilize multiple user roles (for a given user) to control the release of content. According to Bb, they filed that patent in 2000 to protect their interests in an enterprise level course management system. If those two independent claims are infringed, then the other 42 (fairly standard features for CMS's) may also be included, but those 42 cannot be infringed otherwise. Consequently, I'm not sure that the angst expressed over the Bb patent is as grounded as some may think. I am a Blackboard customer and certainly won’t defend the lawsuit against Desire2Learn (don’t know enough about it and am not a patent attorney). However, I did spend some time speaking with Bb’s corporate counsel, Matt Small, yesterday and learned a bit more about the patent. The only claims in the patent that really matter are #1 & #36. The other 42 claims are dependent on those two. In other words, the Bb patent is really for course management systems that utilize multiple user roles (for a given user) to control the release of content. According to Bb, they filed that patent in 2000 to protect their interests in an enterprise level course management system. If those two independent claims are infringed, then the other 42 (fairly standard features for CMS’s) may also be included, but those 42 cannot be infringed otherwise. Consequently, I’m not sure that the angst expressed over the Bb patent is as grounded as some may think.

]]> By: Michael Feldstein http://mfeldstein.com/why_desire2learn_ceo_john_baker_is_our_hero/#comment-542 Michael Feldstein Tue, 15 Aug 2006 19:34:45 +0000 http://628057720#comment-542 Thanks for moving this forward at your institution, Laura. I want to emphasize that Blackboard may well back down before the case goes to trial. Pressure on them to do so is significant and building rapidly. (A letter to Blackboard from your school's administrator expressing how their actions may impact your future purchasing evaluations could also help in this regard.) I do not want to imply that D2L is committing some kind of financial suicide. But yes, the lawsuit unquestionably diverts resources that could be spent on innovation. Thanks for moving this forward at your institution, Laura. I want to emphasize that Blackboard may well back down before the case goes to trial. Pressure on them to do so is significant and building rapidly. (A letter to Blackboard from your school’s administrator expressing how their actions may impact your future purchasing evaluations could also help in this regard.) I do not want to imply that D2L is committing some kind of financial suicide. But yes, the lawsuit unquestionably diverts resources that could be spent on innovation.

]]> By: Laura Gibbs http://mfeldstein.com/why_desire2learn_ceo_john_baker_is_our_hero/#comment-541 Laura Gibbs Tue, 15 Aug 2006 19:29:43 +0000 http://628057720#comment-541 Thanks for this article! We use D2L at my school and I asked our system administrators if they didn't think D2L would be taking a financial hit because of this legal action - they said they were not concerned about it, but I really am. D2L is far from perfect, and I know they have some good improvements in development (I've heard a blogging tool is coming, where the student blogs will have real URL's on the open internet, not locked up in the virtual classroom) - but development like that will be slowed if D2L has to divert money to a lawsuit. I have been really grateful for all the news that the ed-tech-bloggers have shared about this lawsuit. Many thanks for the time and energy you put into the reporting and commentary! Per your suggestion, I have <a href="http://www.bloglines.com/blog/OnlineCourseLady?id=17" rel="nofollow">posted something in my own blog about this</a> and shared your very informative post with the D2L system administrators at my school. Thanks for this article! We use D2L at my school and I asked our system administrators if they didn’t think D2L would be taking a financial hit because of this legal action – they said they were not concerned about it, but I really am. D2L is far from perfect, and I know they have some good improvements in development (I’ve heard a blogging tool is coming, where the student blogs will have real URL’s on the open internet, not locked up in the virtual classroom) – but development like that will be slowed if D2L has to divert money to a lawsuit. I have been really grateful for all the news that the ed-tech-bloggers have shared about this lawsuit. Many thanks for the time and energy you put into the reporting and commentary! Per your suggestion, I have posted something in my own blog about this and shared your very informative post with the D2L system administrators at my school.

]]> By: Interested Observer http://mfeldstein.com/why_desire2learn_ceo_john_baker_is_our_hero/#comment-540 Interested Observer Tue, 15 Aug 2006 18:53:24 +0000 http://628057720#comment-540 How about a legal defense fund? If Desire2Learn sets one up I'll put $5K in the pot. I'm sure a lot of other people will put some money up too. -- How about a legal defense fund?

If Desire2Learn sets one up I’ll put $5K in the pot. I’m sure a lot of other people will put some money up too.

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